Features of the prior art and of the current invention are described herein primarily with respect to use as applied to ice skates for purposes of descriptive clarity. However, many or all of these features are also applicable to other sports shoes, such as but not limited to roller blades, ski boots, snowboard boots, hiking shoes, mountaineering boots, climbing shoes, hunting boots, show shoes, certain work shoes, and the like. It is understood that the general concept and configuration of the present invention are useful in other footwear.
Traditionally, ice skates present several issues: First, ice skates are comprised of a boot and a blade that is attached to the bottom of the boot that allows the skater to move along ice. Because ice skating is a sport that only takes place on ice, it exposes the skater for prolonged periods of time to cold temperatures. The boots generally get cold causing the skaters feet to become cold with results ranging from simply uncomfortable to becoming dangerously cold, including experiencing frostbite.
Second, in addition to cold temperatures, ice skate boots are generally subjected to damage by sharp skate blades and other parts of ice skate boots. This damage can be caused by both the ice skater themselves or other ice skaters. Damaged boots can have ramifications to the ice skater ranging from a breakdown of the skate boot requiring replacement of the boot, to a skater being penalized during competitions for damaged, and unsightly skates.
Also, ice skating generally requires the practicing skater to repeat the same movements many times before they are able to perform the movement correctly. While the skater is still learning those movements, the skater's boots are impacted negatively due to incorrect placement of the skates and blades. This results in damaged boots that are very costly to replace and require long break-in periods for the skater.
In addition, figure skates are often covered by adhesive tape during competitions to hide blemishes on the skates. It would seem that a simple alternative is to have two pairs of skates . . . one for practice and one for competition. There is an inherent problem with that concept due to the individual feel of each skate to the skater. Few skaters, if any, will risk the outcome of a competition to unfamiliar equipment. Also, obtaining and maintaining two sets of skates is potentially financially prohibitive.
Similarly, footwear used for other specific activities is very often subjected to outside elements that are beyond the original footwear's design parameters.